


Baby, I'm Yours

by cornerstoned21



Category: Last Shadow Puppets
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 05:07:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12646722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cornerstoned21/pseuds/cornerstoned21
Summary: “I don't believe in the whole soulmates thing,” Miles said, laughing when Alex gaped at him in confusion.“What do you mean, you don't believe in the whole soulmates thing?” Alex had demanded, incredulous.





	Baby, I'm Yours

Alex met Miles when they were both 17.

They struck up an instant friendship and quickly became inseparable but nothing more ever happened between them. For one thing, Alex was mindful of the fact that neither of them knew who their soulmate was yet. That was something they would find out after their twentieth birthday, and to Alex's mind, it didn't make any sense getting involved with someone if there was a chance they wouldn't turn out to be your soulmate. His friends gave him a lot of grief over the matter, but Alex just laughed them off.

Miles, on the other hand, had no such qualms. He dated and fooled around with countless people during the time that Alex knew him. The one time Alex had tentatively voiced his concerns on Miles's behavior fairly early on in their friendship, Miles had just laughed and brushed off his concerns.

“I don't believe in the whole soulmates thing,” he'd said, laughing when Alex gaped at him in confusion.

“What do you mean, you don't believe in the whole soulmates thing?” Alex had demanded, incredulous. He wasn't sure what city they were in, but he and Miles had gotten up that morning and found a bench in the nearby park, and were drinking their tea and basking in the warm sun that shone down on them. Alex had reluctantly broached the topic of soulmates this morning because when he'd gone to Mile's hotel room to wake his friend up he'd found him sending off yet another nameless hookup.

“I think its all psychological,” Miles went on, oblivious to the consternation on Alex's face. “It's just some stupid social construct.” Seeing that Alex looked unconvinced Miles laughed. “Fine. Prove me wrong. How do you know when you've found your soulmate?”

“You just know!” Alex defended hotly, flushing when Miles just laughed. “You get a feeling when you see them and you just know!”

Saying it out loud made it sound rather silly, but everyone knew that was how soulbonds worked. Alex wouldn't call himself a romantic, but was raised to believe that he had a soulmate out there and he was looking forward to meeting them.

“Okay, let's just say you're right and we all do have a soulmate out there,” Miles conceded, causing Alex to smirk, thinking he'd won.

“But what if you never meet them?” Miles continued on. “What's to say that your soulmate even lives near you? It's a big world, there's billions of people out there. If you're meant to spend the rest of your life with one person, and just one person, why should we assume that we would just happen to run into them someday in the street? Seems a little egotistical to me.”

“But...if you have a soulmate then you're destined to be together so you must run into them...” Alex protested weakly, feeling slightly lost.

“I didn't know you believed in fate and all that crap, Al,” Miles said gently. Alex felt even worse at the gentle admonition, though he didn't know why. He sensed that there was something deeper that was going on here, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to get Miles to tell him if he didn't want to. So he just sighed instead, and pushed the niggling doubt down.

“You're wrong,” he said sadly, forcing himself to fake a conviction he no longer felt. “I hope you find your soulmate and realize that.”

Miles stared at Alex inscrutably for a long minute before looking away and huffing out a breath. Rubbing a tired hand over his face he ignored Alex's comment and was silent for a minute.

“We should be getting back,” Miles said finally. Alex wanted to protest, wanted to convince Miles that he was wrong, but something in Miles's tone suggested that the conversation was over. Not wanting to cause a scene, Alex gave up and rose to his feet. Reaching down he offered his hand to Miles as a sort of peace offering. Miles only hesitated for a second before allowing Alex to pull him to his feet.

(several years later)

Normally Alex didn't pay much attention to birthdays, choosing to spend them as he would any other night, but he couldn't suppress the thrill of excitement that he felt when he realized that this was the year he would finally meet his soulmate. Well, potentially, he corrected himself, mindful of the conversation that he had with Miles a couple of years ago. A sense of lingering doubt from Miles's words remained, but Alex was still excited to meet his soulmate so he firmly pushed the doubt aside.

They didn't have a gig that night, it was a rare off day for the band, so the lads dragged Alex out to the bar much earlier than usual. It was only when they got to the bar and had placed their first round of drinks that Alex realized that someone was missing.

“Where's Miles?” he asked, looking around the table in confusion to confirm that his friend was nowhere in sight.

Matt shrugged. “Couldn’t get ahold of him before we left the hotel. We texted him the address though, so he'll probably meet up with us later.”

Alex forced a smile and tried to ignored the stab of disappointment he felt. Their outing tonight was rather informal and it wasn’t like it had been planned ahead of time, but he was still disappointed that Miles wasn't there. It was Alex’s birthday after all, and he wanted to celebrate it with all his friends.

Halfway through the night Alex felt his mobile buzz in his pocket. Wrapped up in the debate he was having with Cook over something he nearly ignored it, but then he realized it might be Miles so he quickly broke off what he was saying and dug his mobile out. It was a text from Miles and Alex smiled to himself as he opened it, certain that it would be Miles stating that it was on his way to join them. It took him a second to realize that it was just a simple 'happy birthday' message.

Jamie grabbed the phone from his hands and read the message before Alex even had a chance to react. Alex belatedly scrambled to grab it back but Jamie had already finished reading and gave it back willingly.

“Oh,” he said simply, looking at Alex with something like pity in his eyes. Alex scowled, unsure why he was so upset and how Cook of all people could tell without him even saying a word.

“It's nothing, he said he'd try to meet up with us later,” Alex said quietly, not wanting to draw attention to their conversation if he could help it. Jamie looked like he wanted to say something else but his attention was diverted by the table erupting in cheers when Nick announced that the next round was on him.

Alex tried to enjoy himself for the rest of the night, but he found his joy blunted by the absence of Miles. His bad mood lingered the rest of the night and when he got back to the hotel, instead of heading to his room he headed down the hall to the room that Miles was staying in. Alex had to pound on the door for a minute before it opened up to reveal an irritated Miles. The anger disappeared when he saw it was just Alex though. Alex was too drunk to make a comment on it but he could of sworn Miles looked apprehensive to see him. Alex dismissed the thought as he staggered, uninvited, into the room.

“Happy birthday mate!” Miles exclaimed softly, pulling Alex in for a quick hug. Alex nearly relaxed into the gesture until he remembered that he wanted to be mad at the other boy and he shoved him back lightly.

“You didn't come!” he exclaimed petulantly, crossing his hands over his chest. For some reason that caused Miles to smile slightly, as he gently directed Alex towards the bed where he collapsed with a sigh.

“Sorry, la, I meant to but something came up,” Miles explained. Alex propped himself up on his elbows slightly and took a look around, expecting to see evidence that Miles hadn't spent the night alone but he was surprised to find the room was completely bare. There was a bottle of wine already open on the table but there was only one glass sat next to it.

Alex felt a small part of him relax at the sight. “Everything all right?” he inquired casually. Miles nodded but still looked slightly tense.

“I'm fine. And how is the birthday boy, tonight?” he continued on smoothly. “Did you have a Moment when you were out tonight? Should I expect a happy announcement soon?”

Alex laughed, and found himself honestly amused by the question and not impatient that he still hadn't discovered his soulmate yet.

“Nah. It's only the first night, yeah? Maybe they're back in Sheffield, where me heart is,” he joked. Miles pretended to look offended.

“Why Sheffield then? What's wrong with other cities? Say, Liverpool?”

Alex opened his mouth to reply but Miles beat him to it. “Nah, I'm just playing. I'm sure you'll meet your soulmate. If not tonight, another night.”

Alex smiled slightly. “I thought you didn't believe in all that,” he reminded his friend, kicking off his shoes and crawling under the covers. There was silence for a minute and then Miles joined him in the bed after turning off the lights. It was a queen sized bed so there was plenty of room for the both of them but Alex found himself drawn to the middle where he lay, just barely touching Miles.

“I don't,” Miles admitted in the dark. “But if anyone deserves to find their soulmate, it's you, Al.”

\--

The next morning when Alex woke up his head was pounding. Opening his eyes was a mistake because the invading light beams only served to make him feel worse and he shut them quickly with a groan. There was a rustling sound to his left and the bed dipped slightly. Before Alex could move he felt gentle hands begin to gently card through his hair, dulling the pain slightly. Alex sighed and relaxed into the motion, making Miles chuckle.

“Feeling okay there, Al?” he inquired, stopping his motions. It was irrational but Alex could swear he could feel his headache double when Miles away from him.

“Don't stop,” he said, but blanket must have muffled what he said because Miles hummed under his breath and just asked him to repeat himself. Alex could feel his face flush, realizing what he'd said without thinking, and he was suddenly glad that Miles hadn't heard him the first time.

“I'll be fine. Just need some paracetamol and water,” he mumbled, more clearly this time.

Alex winced once more at the bright sunlight that had flooded the room before Miles handed him some pills and a glass of water, gesturing for him to sit up. Their fingers brushed slightly as Miles passed the cup over, making sure that Alex was holding it firmly before he let it go.

“You're a lifesaver, mate,” Alex grinned as he downed the lot.

Miles grinned before informing Alex that he only had an hour before the bus left. Alex swore and quickly made his way back to his room to pack up his stuff. He already felt better and he wondered what was in the drugs that Miles had given him because they didn't usually work so fast. By the time Alex boarded the bus, only ten minutes late this time, he felt good as ever, much to the consternation of his drinking partners from the night before.

“You drank just as much as me, I don't see why you feel fine when I feel like shit, you wanker,” Nick moaned, head in his hands. Alex just smirked and proceeded to torture his hungover friends until they kicked him out of the lounge in punishment. Alex spent the rest of the bus ride reading in his bunk and regretting the fact that Miles was on another bus.

(a couple of months later)

The day of Miles's birthday Alex couldn't seem to find him anywhere. He searched everywhere, eager to wish his friend a happy birthday, but Miles was nowhere to be found. He tried calling his mobile a couple of times but all his calls went straight to voicemail. Before Alex knew it half the day was gone and it was time to head to soundcheck.

Soundcheck went well at first, even if Alex was slightly distracted. He'd been hoping to catch Miles standing off in the wings like he usually was but was disappointed to not see him there. Alex could feel his anger growing throughout soundcheck, and by the end of it he'd snapped at the sound tech more times than was perhaps fair.

When they were finished Alex stormed off the stage in a huff, choosing the side opposite the one where the dressing rooms were. His only thought was to get out of the building and satisfy his nicotine craving, but his flight was interrupted by what sounded like an argument somewhere up ahead of him.

Alex felt some of the anger leave him as he slowed his steps and began walking in the direction of the raised voices instead. It sounded like the voices were coming from behind a curtain, so Alex sidled up behind it and carefully peaked around the corner, curious to find out what was being argued about.

Squinting in the dim lighting Alex could just make out two figures standing close together and talking furiously. One of them was shorter and had blonde hair, probably Eugene then, but the other was unmistakably Miles. Alex felt a surge of annoyance at the fact that he was just now finding his friend and he almost interrupted the conversation to voice his displeasure. But something made him hang back and listen to what the two figures were discussing first.

Although the voices had been loud just a few seconds before, they were lower now and Alex found it hard to distinguish what it was that was being said at first. Eugene seemed to be doing most of the talking at first and Alex was only able to pick out random words.

“....silly....that doesn't make any sense,” Eugene was saying. Miles didn't seem to be giving the other man his full attention though, he was gazing at something he held in his hand. A slight glow alerted to Alex of the fact that it was most likely his cell phone he was holding.

Eugene finally seemed to run out of steam, either that or he realized that he didn't have Miles's full attention. Eugene sighed, and took a step back slightly as if to leave, before once more turning around to face Miles.

“Why don't you just go find him then? There's a part of you that wants to know, isn't there? You might stand here and tell me you don't believe in such things, but I know the truth. You're just scared.”

Miles seemed to curl into himself at those words, and Alex was stunned to see that Miles was visibly upset.

“You're right, I'm scared,” he declared finally. “I'm scared that I'm not his soulmate because I am in love with him. Completely and utterly. Do you know how hard it was to avoid him on his birthday? A small part of me wanted nothing more than to go and find him and see if maybe, maybe my stupid crush wasn't just a stupid crush. Maybe we were meant to be together, and maybe that would be the moment he realized it. You're right, I talk a lot about how I don't believe in soulmates, and I don't. I don't believe in them because I don't think I deserve one. But I want to, god do I want to. And I want him to be the answer.”

Alex felt like he was frozen in place. Hope had started to swell in his heart when he heard what Miles was saying, but he didn't dare think that Miles was talking about him. The thought of Miles being in love with him made his heart swell, but then he remembered that he'd seen Miles after his birthday and never felt anything different for him. Their interactions had been exactly the same after that, nothing had changed.

But then Alex remembered, unbidden, the feeling of gentle fingers playing with his hair and soothing his raging headache. Soulmates had a physical connection, he knew, though it varied from couple to couple. Maybe his quick return to health had less to do with the paracetamol he'd taken and more to do with the person who'd given them to him. And then suddenly he realized it didn't matter. Miles was his best mate and he understood him better than anyone else. Alex didn't want to spend the rest of this life with someone else, even if they were supposedly right for him. How could anyone be more right for him than Miles?

Without thinking Alex stepped around the curtain. Eugene was the first to see him and he looked at Alex neutrally. “He's all yours,” he said, nodding to Alex as he passed. Miles looked panicked when he saw Alex standing there, but he stayed standing where he was. Alex calmly walked over to his friend, standing closer than was perhaps socially acceptable.

“Happy birthday,” he said with a smile. Miles quirked an eyebrow slightly at the casual greeting, but his features relaxed slightly and some of the tension left his body.

“How much of that did you hear?” he asked Alex warily, but there was no heat behind the question, just a resigned sense of acceptance.

“Enough to figure out the reason why you've been avoiding me today,” Alex admitted, taking another step forwards so that they were only inches apart. Miles looked like he wanted to take a step back and put some distance between them but Alex reached out and gently took his hand before he was able to do so.

“You were wrong though,” Alex said casually, as if he was talking about the weather or something equally unimportant; as if the weight of his relationship with Miles wasn't resting on whatever he said next.

“Oh?” Miles breathed out quietly.

“I don't believe in soulmates.”

Whatever it was that Miles was expecting Alex to say, it clearly wasn't that. His gaze snapped back to Alex's, confusion and hope warring on his expressive face.

“Not in the conventional sense, that is,” Alex continued, fingers tracing absent patterns on Mile's palm. “I've already found the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. I don't need some stupid bond to tell me who it is.”

And without any further hesitation Alex pulled Miles the remaining step closer so that they crashed together. Alex was slightly disappointed that he didn't see fireworks when they kissed, but everything suddenly felt right in the world, like an imbalance had been corrected that Alex didn't even know existed in the first place.

Miles pulled back slightly and rested his forehead against Alex's as the two fought to catch their breath.

“Fuck,” Miles swore to himself. Alex laughed fondly and couldn't help but smirk at his soulmate.

“Told you you would know when you found them,” he said.

Miles beamed back at him in return, linking their hands together and pulling him towards the exit.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm terrible about updating Summertime Promises but I'm back to editing it so hopefully I won't take a year to post the next update >.<
> 
> In the meantime, have another Milex fic to hold you over.


End file.
